Other Names for MSG or Monosodium Glutamate

Chinese food often contains MSG.

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is used to add flavor to foods, including dishes in some Chinese restaurants. Some people find that they experience unpleasant side effects after consuming foods that contain MSG. Often called Chinese restaurant syndrome, these symptoms include flushing, headache, sweating, a sense of swelling in the face and a numb or itchy mouth. However, only MSG that is added to foods is listed on nutrition labels. Glutamate and glutamic acid that occurs naturally in foods is not listed.

Free Glutamate

Glutamic acid is an amino acid, and as such is found in most foods that contain protein. However, only foods that contain processed glutamic acid cause problems with people sensitive to MSG. During processing, free glutamate is formed, which sometimes combines with sodium in the body to form monosodium glutamate. There are a number of additives that contain free glutamate that you may want to avoid if you are sensitive to MSG.

Ingredients Containing Free Glutamate

Ingredients that contain free glutamate include any ingredient that contains the words "glutamate" or "hydrolyzed," yeast nutrient, yeast food or autolyzed yeast, as well as ingredients containing the word "protein," gelatin, ajinomoto, vetsin, calcium caseinate and sodium caseinate. Always avoid foods containing these ingredients if MSG causes you to experience unpleasant side effects.

Other Potential Sources

Some other ingredients can contain free glutamate. These include broth, stock, bouillon, flavoring, seasoning, protease, pectin, maltodextrin, carrageenan, citrate, citric acid, barley malt, malt extract, soy sauce, anything fermented and anything containing enzymes. You may want to avoid foods containing these ingredients as well, unless you have tried them and experienced no symptoms.

Considerations

Most of the symptoms that sensitive people experience after consuming MSG are relatively mild and they don't usually last that long. There is some controversy over whether Chinese restaurant syndrome even exists. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies MSG as "generally recognized as safe," and a review article published in August 2010 in "Appetite" found that no studies clearly showed a connection between the symptoms of Chinese restaurant syndrome and glutamate.